Rumor Has It?
by Lacessit
Summary: Pregnant? Ha! Like anyone was stupid enough to think she was actually pregnant.


I do not own the Clique. The setting of this story is freshman year, with OCD and Briarwood being separate schools. I'm sorry, but I hate the idea of BOCD. I just do.

**NOTE**: There is texting in this story. Texting is characterized by all lower case letters and **bold**. I text using all lowercase, and I do not use U for you, R for are, etc. Therefore, the characters don't. Don't like it? Don't read it.

It's 2 AM. I tried to get the typos. I seem to be most creative in the wee hours of the morning.

**Rumor Has It?**

Sitting in second period World History, Alicia Rivera simple could not focus. The high windows of classroom A205 were open, letting in the warm breeze of a Tuesday morning in September, but that wasn't what as distracting her. The way her adorable history teacher's cobalt blue eyes perfectly matched his Lacoste polo was enough to make any girl swoon, but that wasn't it. She hadn't even notice Marni Gibson's nauseating gold argyle sweater - pink corduroy skinny jeans - last years' Birkenstock combination. Her sparkling, expertly lined hazel eyes were not focused on the gorgeous picture of Jake Gyllenhaal she had secretly taped into the inside of her textbook, nor were her ears open to the not so secretive conversation between Lexi Kreuning and Amanda Hatfield about Christina Briggs' drunken one night stand with a Briarwood junior.

On this day, surrounded by her glamourous and privileged peers, eighty five percent of them watching her every move like Perez Hilton on a dry-spell, all Alicia could focus on was her torso. More-so, the slight puffing around the top of her ultra low rise True Religion dark wash straight legs, barely hidden by her perfectly white American Eagle tank top, the bottom of her black and gold Victoria's Secret Pink fleece hoodie hitting just under her navel.

Was she having a fat day? No, she rarely had those. If anything, she had more "outrageously hopefully no one thinks I'm anorexic" skinny days than fat days. Taking her hot pink pen between two French manicured fingers, she placed the capped bottom of the pen against her stomach, poking it three times. Rolling her eyes, she bit her tongue and silently cursed herself. _I shouldn't have had that extra bagel this morning_.

Mother Nature is a bitch. A big, fat, pungent, poor bitch. And she had an even more skanky cousin - Aunt Flo. Together, they were an episode of Jerry Springer aired only after midnight on cable channels.

On the second day of her period, Alicia really, really hated herself for having that extra bagel. She was even pushing it with one bagel in the first place; normally she wasn't one for being bloated, but when that time of the month came around, any carbs she consumed hunted down that bloat like police looking for a drug dealer. Her naturally fast metabolism seemingly disappeared, replaced by a stomach more bloated than Britney after her daily visit to Starbucks. Oy, vey.

She almost looked like she was in her early second trimester of pregnancy. Finding this amusing, Alicia let out a soft yet very audible giggle, before being shot down with a glance from her teacher. When he returned to his lesson, she giggled again. Pregnant? Ha! Like anyone was stupid enough to think she was actually pregnant.

--

Denise Callinbran was in the middle of a light yet peaceful sleep while Mr. Joston dragged on about Marie Antoinette's reign as queen of France, her blonde head resting comfortably on her blue texbook, when a sharp giggle made her jump slightly in her seat. Looking up, she saw Alicia Rivera, who sat directly across from her in the second floor room of Octavian Country Day High School, looking at her stomach and prodding it with a pen. _How odd_, she thought, until she got a closer look.

Alicia, usually a very thin girl, looked a little...round, today. Rounder than usual? Very much so. Crinkling her dark blond eyebrows, Denise brought her right index finger to her glossy pale pink lips, tapping lightly. Interesting. Had she been getting bigger lately? Denise recalled some of her friends discussing it, but she chalked it up to jealousy and cliques. But now that she actually paid attention to it...

Making sure Mr. Joston was focused on the overhead, Denise whipped out her green LG Rumor, sliding out the Qwerty keypad and thumbing through her contacts to her best friend, Mallory Glicken, who was on the third floor in Geometry. Quickly and discreetly, Denise sent Mallory a short text.

**have you noticed a. rivera's tummy lately?**

Denise softly tapped the tips of her shiny acrylic nails against the smooth wood desk, waiting for Mallory's reply. Seconds later, her phone vibrated in her lap.

**a little, actually. why, she's looking bigger?**

Denise bit her lip, tasting the delicious watermelon flavor of Victoria's Secret Beauty, before running a hand through her long, wavy hair. She didn't want to start a rumor. She didn't have anything against Alicia. Sure, they didn't really talk, and Alicia was kind of out of her league when it came to friendship, but Denise did lend Alicia a pen for the last English test, and Alicia was the first person to actually return the pen. So maybe returning a pen and not starting a rumor weren't exactly on the same kindness level, but she did owe Alicia something.

Then again, Denise loved gossip as much as the next girl, and this would earn her serious status points if she pointed out OCD's first ever teen mother. Guilt washing over her like the showers at her mother's spa, Denise typed as quickly as she could.

**yeah. and not just bigger. but like round? and its only her stomach?**

Denise aimlessly drew spirals with her black gel pen on the page of her notebook, under the guise of taking serious notes on whatever it was Mr. Joston was writing about on the overhead. Every now and then she would squint and write, hoping that she was fooling her relatively clueless teacher. Another vibration. Mallory.

**pregnant?**

Denise weighed it out in her head: a returned pencil, an avoided rumor. Pencil. Rumor. Pencil. Rumor.

**and she keeps sneezing and stuff?**

Well, that wasn't so bad. Technically, she didn't really answer Mallory's inquiry. So if a rumor did, in fact, start, technically it wasn't her fault. If she left it alone, technically she was innocent. _Bzzz_. Mallory.

**morning sickness?**

Innocent. Technically.

--

Alicia had just stepped out of the third floor bathroom when the bell for sixth period rang. Gaggles of girls hurriedly on their way to class rushed past Alicia, who, with lunch as her sixth period, felt no need to hurry. Why waste the energy and run the risk scuffing her new metallic gold Coach ballet flats? The hall had nearly cleared, and now the only traffic were the girls, mostly freshman and sophomores, who were also on their way to the Cafe. Alicia slowed herself to a leisurely pace, shaking her chocolate brown hair and reapplying her Dior lip gloss. Her mood was lighter than usual, and she smiled when she heard the sounds of Kanye West coming from the inside of her white XXL Louis Vuttion Mahina. Retrieving her Samsung Blackjack II, she smiled when she saw who was calling. The caller ID read 'Mass,' with a picture of her best friend and alpha taken over the summer during their annual Hamptons visit.

"Hey, chica!" she cooed into the phone, slowly stopping to check her reflection in the window of a junior Spanish class. Luckily, the inside curtain was shielding Alicia from the inside class, so she ran no current risk of being chased away by the batty old teacher.

"Leesh, where the hell are you?" Massie's usually calm and soothing voice bleated over the speaker of Alicia's phone. Straining her neck, Alicia quickly took the phone away from her ear, before placing it back and continuing on to the Cafe.

"Whoa there, baby girl. Whats with the obscenities?"

"Sorry," Massie apologized quietly, but Alicia could still hear the worry in the girl's voice, "But seriously, where are you? K, D, & C are already here and girlie, we need to talk, A.S.A.P!"

Alicia sighed. Long gone were the days of worrying over whether or not the Pretty Committee would still accept her at the end of the day. The girls had long ago decided as a whole that the vintage PC was the only PC. Looking at the signs above the lockers, Alicia reported back to her alpha, "I'm just at the top of the third floor stairs, right next to Weismann's room. I'll come with a quickness. See you soon." Pressing the red END button, Alicia dropped her phone back into her purse, transferred her red notebook and black folder from her left hand to her right, and hurried down the stairs.

--

Making her way through the crowded Cafe, Alicia quickly found table 24, the Pretty Committee's high school table. Standing at the end of it, she placed her books at her usual spot, looking at her best friends happily. "Whats up?" she chirped, before pulling out her silver chair and placing her rear end just on the edge, as was her usual way of sitting. The table was oddly silent. "Well?" she pushed.

Massie cleared her throat, eyeing the bead work on her Fendi Island Spy Bag. Running her manicured hands down the front of her white Donna Karen shirt dress, Massie finally locked her amber eyes on Alicia.

"Leesh," she began, a fake smile playing at her Urban Decay stained lips, "You know we love you, right?"

Alicia, confused beyond belief, tilted her head to the left and nodded slowly, not quite sure where this was going.

Massie continued, "And you know that we'll support you with..._whatever _you do with your personal life, right?"

"Okay, honestly, what the hell is up?" Alicia asked, her jaw clenched and her heart racing, "Everyone's been acting really weird since second period. What does everyone know that I don't?!" It seemed as if half the Cafe fell silent, and Alicia could feel the stares of three hundred girls on her neck. Cool as a cucumber, Alicia reapplied lip gloss to her suddenly very dry lips.

Massie sighed, before turning to Claire, and holding out her hand. Claire, nodding knowingly, reached into her yellow Marc Jacobs, and pulling out her black LG Chocolate. Sliding it open and thumbing through her text inbox, Claire silently handed the phone to Massie, who passed it to Kristen, who passed it to Dylan, and finally, to Alicia. Before looking at the screen, Alicia looked to her friends, searching their faces for answers. Massie gestured to the phone, and Alicia complied. The entire room was silent, save for a few coughs and the distant sound of foot steps. Alicia read; a text from Layne to Claire.

**is alicia pregnant? **

Her delicate hands flew to her open mouth, and she let out a horrified gasp. Snapping her head to Claire, she knitted her dark brows, telepathically begging for knowledge. Massie, ever the expert of telepathic language, once again cleared her throat.

"Layne heard it from Demi Noakes, who apparently heard it from Aimee Lavito, who got the text from Mallory Glicken. I grilled Mallory like a steak, but she refused to name names. Dylan even swiped her Blackberry, but Mallory had deleted all the texts. Bitch." Massie hissed, but Alicia knew by the tone in her voice and the look in her eyes that Massie wasn't surely convinced either way.

"Guys-...I'm not-...It isn't-..." Alicia trailed off, her blood boiling. In a huff, Alicia backed out of her chair, the metal legs scratching against the linoleum floors, making the already quiet Cafe silent with interest. Pushing the items of her and her friends out of her way, she used her chair as a step ladder, placing herself on top of table 24. Cupping her hands over her mouth, she called for the attention of the entire Cafe.

"Ok, listen! I, Alicia Edenia Rivera, am nawt pregnant!" Alicia stood still, despite the hollers of cafe staff and the urgent hissing of her friends, who sat frozen at her feet, "_Por favor_, people! Can't a girl be a little bloated! Have none of you idiots had your period?! For goodness sake! _Adios mio_!"

And with one final huff, Alicia stepped down from the table, not looking the least be out of place or angered. Instead, she placed herself back into her seat, popped the tab on her Sunkist, and placed a straw inside, taking a small sip of the orange beverage. Looking to her friends, her eyes wide and innocent, as if she barely noticed the entire stunned Cafe staring at her, she smiled. "So, whose ready for the big French test?"

--

Less than two minutes had passed since Alicia's little "announcement," and everyone had more or less returned to their usually gossip and eating. Only one person sat, frozen solid, her Dr. Pepper at her lips. Denise Callinbran, brought out of her daze by a slap to her shoulder, quickly coughed up her beverage. Looking behind her, she saw Mallory, running her fingers through her glossy, bust length auburn tresses. After a solid ten second stare down, the two girls brought their palms to their mouths in an attempt to hide their laughter. Mallory took her place across from Denise, lifting her Coca Cola as if in a toast. Denise, a smug smile on her beautiful face, did the same, and the two girls clinked cans, silently congratulating themselves on a job well done.

* * *

I was SO OVER Claire having that annoying Dial L phone. And I really just wanted to see Alicia lose it, if only for a second. Yay for humor?


End file.
